Halladay provides well-timed gifts

Phillies ace rewards teammates for his perfect game

In honor of his perfect game against Florida on May 29, Roy Halladay handed out engraved watches to his teammates and other Phillies personnel.

On the top of the box, it reads "Perfect Game, May 29, 2010," and the front reads "We did it together. Thanks, Roy Halladay."

"I'm completely blown away by it," teammate Raul Ibanez told MLB.com. "The way I look at it is, I should have been getting him something, you know? Because I've never even been on the field for one of those. They're so rare. Gosh, that kind of gesture is really moving. It's one of the classiest things I've ever seen."

"Absolutely amazing," manager Charlie Manuel said. "It shows how much he cares. It shows how much he's a part of our team and how he looks at us. That's the first time I've ever gotten something like that. It's very neat. It's very special."

Bautista first to 40 homers: Jose Bautista enjoyed his trot around the bases after hitting his 40th home run -- and second of the game -- on Monday night against the Yankees to break a 2-2 tie.

"I don't think it was because it was No. 40," he told the Toronto Sun. "It was a tight game, pretty late. I knew if we took the lead, we needed three outs to win it and given what had transpired earlier, I enjoyed it pretty good."

Coleman joins his dad in the win column: Casey Coleman picked up his first Major League victory in the Cubs' 9-1 win over the Nationals on Monday. Like his father who pitched for the Washington Senators, Casey picked up his first win in the nation's capital. Now a Minor League pitching coach in the Tigers' system, Joe was excited for his son.

"He was just excited," Casey told MLB.com. "He called me again today and said he only got two hours of sleep because he was so excited. He wants me to go out there and stay focused and keep doing it."

Yadier Molina finds workload appealing: Yadier Molina has started 26 straight and 44 of 45 games behind the plate for the Cardinals. He enjoys a heavy workload.

"I don't know what it is," Molina told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I'm doing the same thing I did the first half. And I'm doing the same thing I did two years ago, three years ago."

Shields moves to top of Rays' win list: James Shields moved into a tie for first place as Tampa Bay's all-time wins leader with a victory over the Angels on Monday. Shields has 55 wins for the Rays, equaling Scott Kazmir, who now pitches for the Angels.

"It's definitely an honor," Shields told the St. Petersburg Times. "Especially to be in one organization as long as I have so far. Hopefully, I can get a lot more wins."

Denorfia watches Venable, turns around season: Chris Denorfia, who was released by Oakland at the end of last season, had been out of a job for a month before the Padres signed him.

"When I got here, I had some mechanical issues with my swing," Denorfia told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "They got exposed. I was struggling and working trying to find the combination. And, in one of those weird things, I'm watching [Will] Venable one day, and it clicked in my head.

"'Stay back.' Sounds ridiculously simple. But I wasn't doing it. I'm watching Venable and it hits me. The turning point came in Washington."

Posey not concerned with batting title: Rookie Buster Posey has a .342 batting average, but he'll fall about 60 plate appearances shy of the 502 needed to qualify for a batting title.

"I kind of figured," Posey told the San Jose Mercury News when informed of the projections. "Oh sure, it would be a thrill to win a batting title. But it's one of those things you really don't think about. I hate to be boring, but if you have the right approach every day, those are things that just kind of happen."

No National League rookie has ever won the batting title. Tony Oliva was the first rookie to win one when he did it for the Twins in 1964. The only other rookie to do it was Ichiro Suzuki for the Mariners in 2001.

Oswalt enjoying his new digs: Roy Oswalt is 3-1 with a 2.43 ERA since joining the Phillies.

"It's been good, and the guys are fun," Oswalt told MLB.com. "I'm excited. There are 45,000 people here every night, and that's just what I'm looking for."

Holland soaking up each start: Royals rookie Greg Holland is learning what it takes to succeed in the Major Leagues.

"It's a great group of guys in the clubhouse," Holland told MLB.com. "It's easy to get into the swing of things and stuff. You just have to go out there and do your job on the field. ... When I throw strikes and get ahead of hitters, I'm pretty effective. But it's something I've got to continue to work on."

A's starters putting up impressive numbers: The A's starters have an American League-best 3.40 ERA despite an average age of just 23.6 years among pitchers Brett Anderson, Dallas Braden, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Vin Mazzaro.

"Their rotation is younger than ours, and they're equally as talented," Rays manager Joe Maddon told the Oakland Tribune. "They're really impressive. They're a well-kept secret being so far west. But trust me, coming into this series, I was very aware of all these guys."

"Trevor obviously is the All-Star, but I think you could put Trevor, Gio and Vinny in the same category," A's teammate Kurt Suzuki said. "From mentality to stuff, they've made such good improvements."

Happ returns to Philly: On Wednesday night, J.A. Happ is scheduled to face his former Phillies teammates for the first time since being traded to the Astros.

"It's strange to continue walking and make that trip to the visitor's clubhouse for the first time," Happ told the Houston Chronicle.

Derrek Lee ready to lend a hand with Braves: Derrek Lee is happy to join the Braves and a pennant race.

"I am excited. I mean, this is what you play for, right? Pennant race, chance of playing in October," Lee told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "This is fun. So hopefully, I can do my part and help us out."